With Arsenal taking on Stoke at The Britannia today, The Gunners will need to be at their most determined to get a positive result.

Away games against The Potters are notoriously difficult for Arsene Wenger's men; they've only beaten Stoke once in their last seven attempts on their travels. Mark Hughes' side usually confound their stylish opponents with a mixture of bravery, physicality and pure grit.

Indeed, Arsenal's job will only be made harder today by the absence of their own tough-tackling midfield brave - the injured Francis Coquelin.

If there's an Arsenal player who's uniquely suited to playing on a cold Tuesday (sorry, Sunday) night in Stoke, it's Coquelin. The Frenchman is nippy, snappy and a little bit nasty when required. In many ways, he's the perfect counter-balance to The Potters' robust style.

With the help of the clever gents at Opta, we've looked at Arsenal's defensive stats both with and without Francis; the results are quite astounding. Here's the proof (if proof were needed) that the North Londoners are in desperate need of a speedy return for their defensive midfielder - not just for games against physical opposition, but for the duration of their title-chasing campaign.

Perhaps the most striking stat of all is this - Arsenal have conceded 50% more shots/game without Coquelin in the starting line up in 2015-16. That's an average of 15 shots a game sans Francis, as opposed to 10 with him in the side.

Shots conceded per game, 2015/16

With Coquelin

10

Without Coquelin

15

Opta

Likewise, Arsenal have conceded an average of 0.8 goals per game with Coquelin in the team as opposed to 1.3 without him. That's a hugely significant increase.